Such was the power of the 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds that it supposedly sparked mass panic in America because many believed we were actually being invaded by aliens.

Now the BBC has created a brand-new TV adaptation of HG Wells’ sci-fi novel which features the Cheshire village of Great Budworth set in Victorian times amid the chaos of the extra-terrestrial incursion.

The three-part series, written for television by Doctor Who ’s Peter Harness, has an illustrious cast in the form of Eleanor Tomlinson, Rafe Spall, Robert Carlyle and Rupert Graves.

The drama, which was also filmed in Liverpool, is due to be broadcast during December.

Damien Timmer, executive producer of Mammoth Screen, said: “Here we are, making the original and best alien invasion story for the BBC One audience - it doesn’t get much better than this! With a stellar cast and some very scary Martians up our sleeve we look forward to terrifying large sections of the audience soon!”

Music for the show will be scored by critically-acclaimed composer Russ Davies and cinematographer is James Friend BSC (Rillington Place).